Fall is a great time of the year to get your family together for fall volunteer service projects. You get the opportunity to make a difference, but you also get health benefits for yourself! According to HelpGuide.org, volunteering reduces stress and anxiety. It also combats depression, makes you happy, builds your self-confidence and provides a sense of purpose. All of those are things I want for my family … and for yours! And at the same time, we get the blessing of helping others!
Plus, if you’re a Christian family, like ours, it’s an awesome opportunity to share God’s love and be His hands and feet to those around us!
I’m sharing a few ideas here with you to inspire you to search for a fall volunteer service project to do as a family. Maybe get a few families to do it together and make it more fun!
Fall Volunteer Service Projects for Your Family!
1. Blessing Bags
Our family has been “blessed” to be able to put together “blessing bags” through churches and non-profit organizations. If you’ve never heard of them, basically, you take plastic “Ziploc” bags and fill them up with toiletries (travel sized toothpaste, soap, etc…) Add other items like granola bars and socks when it’s cold. The blessing bags can be collected through a church or non profit, and they often go to help homeless men, women and children in shelters or on the street.
2. Food bank
A few years ago, our church in Houston did a service project at a local Food Bank. I was surprised at how much fun we had! Part of it was working together with other parents and all the kids. Another part was knowing that what we were doing would be helping families in need. And even though my son was “under the weather” and not feeling great that day, it’s still a sweet memory. If you’ve never volunteered as a family, a local food bank could be a great place to start!
3. Hurricane Relief
If you have ever lived through a hurricane or major weather event, you know how much it means to have people reach out to help. We have lived through our share of storms, including Hurricane Harvey in 2017. That same year, we had family and friends who lived through Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. This year, 2019, many local churches and organizations were gathering supplies to help the Bahamas after Hurricane Dorian devastated their area. Some drives are still going! It’s never too late to find organizations that you can support or volunteer with to help those who’ve been affected by storms.
4. Bring food & supplies to a pet shelter
You may be DOG lovers like our family, and if you are, this might be the project for you! An old co-worker of mine used to bring a list of “needed items” from a local pet shelter. It was super easy to gather supplies and bring them or drop them off. But it’s EXTRA fun for us pet lovers if you drop off needed items AND get to visit and pet a few furry friends! Check with your local pet shelters and see if they have any special needs or volunteer and service opportunities, especially those that are kid-friendly!
5. Operation Christmas Child
And you know it will be Christmas before we know it (I mean, this IS a 101 Days till Christmas countdown!) And it’s only 81 days as of today (October 5, 2019!) One of my favorite projects to do as a family is to pack shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child. These are shoeboxes that you fill up with toys & toiletries. They go to children in poor and war-torn parts of the world. National Collection Week is in mid-November, so it’s definitely a fun fall project to be a part of, if you’re looking for ideas.
Hope all these help “spark” a desire to serve and volunteer with your family this fall!
Laughing (and serving) thru life.
Coppelia
